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Ready For Next Step: Thomas Foulkes, a senior electrical engineering student, has completed independent research projects, had internships with the U.S. Patent Service and Delphi Electronics and Safety, and led student organizations. (Photo by Shawn Spence)

Foulkes will receive a stipend to support his graduate studies at the University of Illinois. He will study power electronics and applied electromagnetics under the direction of Robert Pilawa-Podgurski, PhD.

Tau Beta Pi Fellowships are awarded on the basis of high scholarship, campus leadership, service, and promise for future contributions to the engineering profession.

At Rose-Hulman, Foulkes serves as treasurer of the Indiana Beta Chapter of Tau Beta Pi, is president of the Blue Key national honor society chapter, and helps organize activities for the institute's Explore Engineering program. This program strives to attract middle- and high-school students toward careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.

Foulkes, from Terre Haute, also completed a summer internship as a patent examiner at the United States Patent and Trademark Office, and two summers in research and design at Delphi Electronics and Safety.

Throughout his academic career on campus, Foulkes has pursued independent research, working on asteroid photometry with physics and optical engineering professor Richard Ditteon, PhD, and magneto-optic phenomena in pulsed magnetic fields with physics and optical engineering professor Maarij Syed, PhD, and electrical and computer engineering professor Marc Herniter, PhD.

Tau Beta Pi is the world's largest engineering society and provides more financial assistance to engineering students than any other engineering society in the world. Membership represents the highest honor to be obtained by an engineering student and is awarded on the basis of high scholarship and exemplary character.